Absorbent cup insert



June 10, 1969 E. J. ARNOSKY ETAL 3,448,912

ABSORBENT CUP INSERT Filed Oct. 4, 1967 Sheet of 2 INVENTORS.

EDWARD J. ARNOSKY ROBERT c. ARNOSKY ATTORNEY.

June 10, 1969 E. J. ARNOSKY ETAL 3,448,912

AIBSORBENT CUP INSERT I Filed Oct. 4, 1967 Sheet 3 of 2 Fig.2

INVENTORS. EDWARD J. ARNOSKY ROBERT C. ARNOSKY BY ATTORNEY.

United States Patent 3,448,912 ABSORBENT CUP INSERT Edward J. Arnosky, 4017 K St., Philadelphia, Pa. 19124, and Robert C. Arnosky, 229 Belmont Ave., Croydon, Pa. 19020 Filed Oct. 4, 1967, Ser. No. 672,837 Int. Cl. B65d 3/24, 3/26, 17/24 US. Cl. 2291.5 9 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE The present invention relates to the general field of paper products and more particularly is directed to a disposable cup insert of moisture absorbing material.

The use of disposable paper, plastic and plastic coated paper containers and cups has greatly increased during the past several years for use with both hot and cold liquids. Particularly, such cups are employed almost universally for so-called take-out food service in many restaurants and cafeterias. Also, it is common practice in many large ofi'ice buildings and factories to allow snack wagons and coffee percolators in the work areas to enable employees to more readily participate in coffee breaks without undue loss in work or production time.

Problems are sometimes caused by these practices in that quite often, a small quantity of liquid is permitted to remain at the bottom of the container. This can be caused either by hot drinks becoming cool and thus unpalatable or perhaps by the melting of ice after cold drinks have been finished. However, hot or cold, it is the liquid remainder in the cup bottom that causes the trouble. In most work spaces, either office or factory, the only place where liquid can be properly disposed is in the nearest restroom. Employees are reluctant to journey to the lavatory merely to pour out the last remaining drops in the cup, and indeed employers would frown on such a practice in view of the lost work time. Accordingly, it is the usual present practice to merely throw the container, liquid remainder and all, into the nearest waste receptacle.

Such a practice has obvious drawbacks in that most drinks contain foodstuffs such as sugar and milk that are subject to spoilage and also to rodent and insect attraction and infestation. By merely dumping the liquids into the waste receptacle, the chances of creating unhealthy work conditions are greatly enhanced. Further, the liquid residues could leak onto the floor through the waste receptacle, thereby setting the stage for falling accidents caused by slipping on a wet floor.

Prior workers in the field have recognized the problem and have attempted to find a solution by utilizing more or less complicated devices. We are familiar with one such device wherein a false bottom was telescoped onto the bottom of the container and positioned to seal a bottom located valve. By moving the false bottom, the valve could be opened to drain the cup contents into the residue chamber. Such a device sulfered from excess manufacturing and resultant selling costs whereby it could not be economically employed. Also, the possibility existed of prematurely opening the valve.

I am also familiar with two piece devices wherein moisture absorbent material was made available in a kit disassociated from the cup itself. Such devices were cumbersome, hard to handle and never gained popularity.

It is therefore an object of the instant invention to provide an improved device of the type set forth.

It is another object of the instant invention to provide an absorbent cup insert adaptable for use with presently available containers.

It is another object of this invention to provide an absorbent cup bottom that provides shielded moisture absorbing material.

It is another object of the instant invention to provide an absorbent cup bottom capable of absorbing and holding the liquid residue in a cup after most of the contents have been drained.

It is another object of the present invention to provide an absorbent cup bottom comprising both moisture absorbing and moisture resisting material.

It is another object of the present invention to provide an absorbent cup bottom employing a shielded insert of moisture absorbing material and means to readily expose a portion of the said material to a liquid residue.

It is another object of the present invention to provide an absorbent cup bottom that is simple in construction, inexpensive in manufacture and trouble-free upon use.

Other objects and a fuller understanding of the invention will be had by referring to the following description and claims of a preferred embodiment thereof, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings 'wherein like reference characters refer to similar parts throughout the several views and in which:

FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective View of the invention.

FIG. 2 is a side elevational view of the invention, partly broken away to expose the interior construction.

FIG. 3 is a cross sectional view taken along line 33 of FIG. 2, partly broken away to expose the interior construction.

FIG. 4 is a partial elevational view from line 4-4 of FIG. 3, looking in the direction of the arrows and partly broken away to expose the insert in liquid retaining position.

FIG. 5 is a partial, side elevational view of the container in squeezed condition, partly broken away to expose the position of the insert in liquid passing position.

FIG. 6 is a cross sectional view taken along line 6--6 of FIG. 5, looking in the direction of the arrows and partly broken away to expose the interior construction.

FIG. 7 is a cross sectional view, taken along line 7-7 of FIG. 6.

FIG. 8 is a perspective view of a squeezed cup, partly broken away to show the internal configuration of a modified insert, the users hand being shown in broken lines.

FIG. 9 is a detail perspective View of a modified cup insert.

Although specific terms are used in the following description for the sake of clarity, these terms are intended to refer only to the particular structure of my invention selected for illustration in the drawings and are not intended to define or limit the scope of the invention.

Referring now to the drawings, we show in FIG. 1 a conventional disposable drinking cup 10 which may be manufactured of cardboard, plastic or wax coated cardboard or plastic in any well-known manner. A highly absorbent, disposable wafer 12 inserts within the cup 10 and rests upon the bottom 14 thereof to absorb the liquid residue in the cup prior to disposal, as hereinafter more fully set forth. A wafer shielding means 16 of moisture resistant material such as plastic or plastic coated cardboard with an integral, circular, depending sidewall 18 locks into the cup construction to cover the wafer 12 and to shield it temporarily from the liquid 28 which is contained within the cup prior to its consumption.

Referring'now to FIGS. 3 and 4, it will be seen that the top of the wafer shielding means 16 is pre-creased in a generally triangular configuration as at lines 22, 24 and at ridge line 26 to form an openable segment 30 upon the application of external squeezing pressure forces. The sidewall 18 opens laterally to the arc subtended by the lines 22, 24 to provide an arcuate cutout space 32. Horizontally juxtaposed tabs 34, 36 respectively join the exposed ends 38, of the sidewall 18 and depend from the insert top 20 to provide 'a continuous, peripheral shield for the wafer 12 when properly positioned at the bottom of the cup 10. As best seen in FIG. 4, a triangular notch 42 separates the tabs 34, 36. Triangular cuts 46, 48 are respectively employed at the juncture of the tab 34 and the sidewall end 38 and the tab 36 and the sidewall end 40. It can be observed in FIG. 4 and it will be appreciated that when the cup 10 is squeezed, the insert sidewall ends 38, 40 are urged toward each other. The triangular cuts 46, 48 and the triangular notch 42 cooperate to force the openable segment 30 upwardly through force vectors acting upon the inclined sides. See FIGS. 6 and 7.

As can best be seen in FIGS. 5, 6 and 7, when the cup sides are compressed by squeezing, as at 50, the forces acting upon the cuts 42, 46, 48 and the creases 22, 24, 26 cause the openable segment 30 to rise and assume the raised position most easily observed in FIG. 7. In this position, the tabs 34, 36 are raised above the top surface of the wafer 12 and no longer shield the wafer from the liquid 28. As shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, when the segment 30 is squeezed to its raised position, the liquid 28 can flow by gravity through the path 52 defined between the cup sidewall 54 and the tabs 34, 36 and thus reach the absorbent material 12.

Referring now to FIGS. 8 and 9, we show a modified type of insert 56 wherein a circular top 58 is provided with a diametrical ridge crease 60 and a pair of equal parallel crease lines 62, 64 which are spaced on either side thereof. A circular sidewall 66 depends from the edges of the insert top 58 to shield a moisture absorbent wafer 12 in the usual manner in cooperation with a disposable drinking cup 10. Diametrically opposed cut-out spaces 68, 70 depend at either end of the crease lines 62, 64 to provide moisture access paths when the cup 10 is squeezed as hereinafter more fully set forth. Tabs 72, 74, 76, 78 respectively depend from the edge of the top 58 and partially cover the openings 68, 70 at the top thereof to shield the wafer 12 from the entrance of any liquid when the insert 56 is pressed against the cup bottom. The central V-shaped notches 80, 82 align under the central ridge 60 and act to urge the raisable area 84 defined between the crease lines 62, 64 upwardly upon the application of external pressure forces.

The ribs 72, 74 terminate laterally in triangular cuts 86, 88 which serve also to urge the section 84 upwardly when the cup 10 is squeezed. Similarly, the ribs 76, 78 terminate laterally in the triangular cuts 90, 92.

In order to use our invention, a conventional, disposable drinking cup 10 can be employed. Cups which terminate downwardly in a continuous, depending, circular flange 94 are suitable for this purpose. A flat, cylindrical water 12 of moisture absorbent material, of diameter to conveniently fit within the cup bottom is then applied into the cup and placed fiat against the cup bottom 14. Next, the wafer shielding means 16 or the modified wafer shielding means 56 is placed over the wafer 12 with the sidewalls 18 or 66 respectively facing downwardly. The bottom edge of the sidewall 18 or 66 is then urged into the circular recess 96 which is created when the bottom flange 94 is folded during the cup manufacturing operation. In this manner the sidewalls 18 or 66 cover the wafer 12 and completely seal it from the liquid in the 4 cup. The tabs 34, 36 and 72, 74, 76, 78 seal against the sidewall of the cup 10 and also serve to shield the wafer.

Upon finishing the drink held in the cup, the user can drain the last drops by simply squeezing the cup 10 in his hand 98. The external pressures thus applied cause the openable segment 30 or the raisable section 34 to pop upwardly, thus exposing the wafer 12 to the liquid at the cut out spaces 32 or 68, 70. See FIGS. 5 and 8. In this manner, the liquid remainder will follow the path of the arrows illustrated in FIGS. 5, 6, 7 and 8 and will thus be absorbed by the action of the wafer 12.

Although we have described our invention with a certain degree of particularity, it is understood that the present disclosure has been made only by way of example and that numerous changes in the details of construction and the combination and arrangement of parts may be resorted to without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as hereinafter claimed.

What is claimed is:

1. In a cup insert for use Within a disposable type of liquid containing drinking cup having a bottom, the combination of (A) a wafer of liquid absorbent material;

(1) said wafer being positioned to rest upon the bottom of the said cup; and

(B) wafer shielding means insertable into the said cup over the said wafer;

(1) said wafer shielding means having a first position and a second position;

(a) said wafer shielding means separating the said water from the said liquid when in the said first position,

(b) said water shielding means including liquid passage means when in said second position to thereby expose the said wafer to the said liquid, wherein the said liquid passage means include an openable segment pre-creased into a portion of the said shielding means, and

(c) said wafer shielding means being responsive to the application of external squeezing forces when in the said first position to urge the said wafer shielding means to the said second position.

2. The invention of claim 1 wherein the said wafer shielding means include a circular top of liquid impervious material and circular sidewalls integrally formed with and peripherally depending from the said top.

3. The invention of claim 1 wherein the said wafer shielding means include a circular top of liquid impervious material and circular sidewalls integrally formed with and peripherally depending from the said top, the diameter of said sidewalls being equal to the diameter of the said bottom of the cup.

4. The invention of claim 1 wherein the said liquid passage means include an openable segment pro-creased into a horizontal portion of the said shielding means.

5. The invention of claim 1 wherein the said liquid passage means include an openable segment pre-creased into a horizontal portion of the said shielding means, and said shielding means including a circular, vertical sidewall, said sidewall 'being cut to provide a cut out space for liquid passage.

6. The invention of claim 1 wherein the said liquid passage means include an openable segment pre-creased into a horizontal portion of the said shielding means, and said shielding means including a circular, vertical sidewall, said sidewall being cut to provide a cut out space for liquid passage, and wherein the said cut out space aligns below the said openable segment.

7. The invention of claim 1 wherein the said water shielding means include a circular top of liquid impervious material and circular sidewalls integrally formed with and peripherally depending from the said top, said top being precreascd to form a pie-shaped openable segment and said sidewall being cut to provide a cut-out space aligned below the said openable segment, and a pair of depending tabs arranged at the top of the said cut-out space, said tabs respectively joined to each other and to the said sidewalls in triangular shaped, cutout notches.

8. The invention of claim 1 wherein the said cup bottom includes a folded flange and wherein a portion of the said shielding means are insertable into the fold at the said bottom flange of the cup.

9. The invention of claim 1 wheerin the said wafer 10 shielding means include a circular top of liquid impervious material and circular sidewalls integrally formed with and peripherally depending from the said top, said top being precreased to form a rectangular raisable section,

said raisable section having a diametrical ridge crease and said sidewall being cut to provide a pair of diametrically opposed cut-out spaces aligned below the end of the said raisable section and a pair of depending tabs arranged at the top of each said cut-out space.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,915,176 12/1959 ONeil 20647 JAMES B. MARBERT, Primary Examiner.

US. Cl. X.R. 20647 

